Where has this year gone?? I’ve started to hear Christmas music everywhere and I’m terrified.

Of course, November is when I can begin to profile the artists who will be appearing at the Australian Celtic Festival – check out Clan Celtica (New Zealand) and Tartan Shamrock later in the Newsletter.

There’s lots of Australian Celtic Festival information in this edition as well, and a final reminder about nominations for The Australian Celtic Music Awards. Do it now!!! There’s the usual guide to performances by lots of musicians. You’ll have plenty to choose from when planning your end-of-year musical enjoyment. So, here’s your bumper, informative, November edition of Celtic News.

Australian Celtic Festival

4th to 7th May 2017

Showground Camping options are available at the picturesque historic Glen Innes Showground during the 2017 Festival. All bookings must be made online. All the information about the showground is on the Festival website.

ACF Stallholder Applications now open

The Australian Celtic Festival Committee is interested in hearing from prospective vendors specialising in food, beverage, produce, merchandise, jewellery, book sales, musical items and other retail options for stalls at the Festival site, The Australian Standing Stones. Stallholder applications for the 2017 Festival are now open.

‘Tie the Knot’

at the 2017 Australian Celtic Festival

The Australian Celtic Festival Committee is looking for a couple to “Tie the Knot” in an Irish-inspired wedding ceremony at a unique setting, in front of a large crowd.

One fortunate couple will win the opportunity to “tie the knot” in a traditional Celtic style, 100% legal wedding on Saturday 6^th May 2017, at The Australian Celtic Festival. Couples who are genuinely interested in getting legally married in a traditional Celtic ceremony with an Irish theme can find more information or enter online via the website. Applications close on 15^th January 2017.

Peace Train

On 29th October, I attended Darren Coggan’s Peace Train show. Darren is, of course, a talented and professional singer and I knew that I would enjoy his show.

Cat Stevens’ music was the sound track of my life. This will probably give away my age! I was impressed with the way that Darren put together a biographical show that told the story with humour, anecdote and flair, incorporating the music that we all know and love so well.

Peace Train was beautifully staged. Credit must go to the Services Club staff and to Pinknoize for an excellent presentation. We are indeed fortunate to have had a show of this calibre presented in Glen Innes.

Auckland Fringe Festival

21st February to 12th March 2017

Registrations are now open on the website. I hope to bring you more information in coming editions.

Tartan Shamrock

An Irishman, a Scotsman and an Australian walk onto a stage – what ensues is a night filled with great toe tapping music, storytelling and craic. Tartan Shamrock combine feel good traditional Irish & Scottish music with classic Aussie tunes. They are just one of the featured artists at the 2017 Australian Celtic Festival.

Friends of The Australian Celtic Festival

Supporting Celtic Heritage

We are delighted to co-present The Abbeys at Land of the Beardies History House on 26^th November at 4.30 pm. The Museum occupies a beautiful old building with a central courtyard surrounded by a wide veranda. This will be the setting for some great music and you will have an opportunity to see the Museum’s collection as well. $15 pp with light refreshments included.

Join up as a Member of Friends of the Australian Celtic Festival or renew your membership and get free entry to see The Abbeys at Land of The Beardies Museum on 26^th November 2016.

Join up or renew your Membership to attend the ACF Chair’s Christmas Lunch on 15^th December at Glen Innes Services Club.

Buy a Friend of The Australian Celtic Festival polo shirt for $27.50. This is a great way to show off at the Festival! These polo shirts are only available for Friends.

To book for 26^th November, The ACF Chair’s Christmas Lunch (see next article), or to order your Polo Shirts contact: Barbara on 02 6734 5189 – barbara.saxonge@gmail.com or Mary (Tuesday to Thursday) on 02 6730 2410 – mhollingworth@gisc.nsw.gov.au.

Australian Celtic Festival Christmas Lunch

The Chair of The Australian Celtic Festival 2017 Committee, Lara Gresham, invites you to join her and the Committee at 12.30pm to 2.30pm on Thursday 15^th December in the North Auditorium at Glen Innes Services Club to celebrate the Festive Season. The 2 course Christmas Lunch will be served at 1.00 pm and is $15 per head. Bookings through The Australian Celtic Festival Office – mhollingworth@gisc.nsw.gov.au, phone 02 6730 2400. Friends of The Australian Celtic Festival attend for free – but please book for catering purposes.

Celtic Journey

26th and 27th November
Central QLD Conservatorium, Mackay. 10th Triple Threat Theatre Academy production featuring soloists, ensembles and groups from the Academy, Molly Armstrong & the Cape Byron Celtic Dancers (Australian Celtic Dance Champions), and the debut of a new all-male group of singers, in the vein of Celtic Thunder plus Principles Petar and Jessica Grulovic.

What’s on in Glen Innes

26th November
4.30 pm. The Abbeys at Land of the Beardies History House. $15 pp including light refreshments.

26th November
Drumming Competition at the newly renovated historic Deepwater Inn (1865), New England Highway, Deepwater. For details call 02 6734 5111.

3rd December
Jean Kitson – Live and Hilarious at Glen Innes Services Club. Doors open at 7 pm. $20pp – show only.

Mark Cryle and Carmel Newman

Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford QLD, 27th December 2016 to 1st January 2017

Lorin Nicholson

Lorin will be performing in the following locations.

Monday 28th November
St Joseph’s College Albion Park NSW 12:00noon. Senior graduation motivational performance. All parents and community welcome.

Tuesday 29th November
Henry Kendall High School Gosford NSW 11:40am. Senior graduation motivational performance. All parents and community welcome.

String Loaded

Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford QLD, 27th December 2016 to 1st January 2017.

Tenterfield Big Screen Music Event

For a special event to celebrate and promote Folk and Celtic music, Tenterfield Cinema is being taken over for a night of Music Videos in January 2017.

Directed by Peter Harris from Welder's Dog, the project is an interesting challenge to convert the videos into a large screen aspect with "Surround Sound" audio.

Surround Sound was once touted as the next big leap for musicians after stereo. But sadly for quality audio, a nasty little algorithm called MP3 was developed for early personal computers which threw away much of the audio signal.

And a whole new digital generation grew up thinking that tinny sound was music!

Known as 5.1 for its array of 5 speakers plus a deep 'rumble' speaker so the audience could feel earthquakes and explosions, Surround Sound survived in cinemas. But as music is still recorded in stereo, most tracks are heard out of just two of those speakers.

So Peter Harris has set about remixing the video tracks into Surround Sound audio for the event. He is also doing his best to stretch the video into the large screen format. The result is big dramatic visuals and fabulous Surround Sound!

Folk and Celtic musicians are invited to submit Music Vids for inclusion.  Welder's Dog, would particularly like to bring this event to the attention of musicians performing at the 2017 Australian Celtic Festival. The cinema screening is on January 14th at 7pm and is well timed to help with your promotion. Contact Peter at info@mobilemoviefest.com.

Murphy’s Pigs

Clan Celtica – Tribal Thunder (New Zealand)

International Celtic Artist 2016 – Australian Celtic Music Awards

Appearing at the 2017 Australian Celtic Festival

Formed in 9th December 2013 and hailing from Auckland, Clan Celtica is a Scottish Tribal 6-piece music group made up of large drums and Great Highland Bagpipes.  The music is uniquely Scottish. Clan Celtica is the only band of this genre in the southern hemisphere, originating from the days before military pipe bands we know so well today were formed.

This ‘Real-Sound-of-Scotland’ is best described as an exciting mix of the Great Highland Bagpipes weaving emotive Celtic melodies alongside pulsating dynamic drum beats, both slow to fast.  The almost eerie hypnotic atmospheric performance includes original tunes and rearrangements of well-known Scottish theme compositions from movie soundtracks, such as ‘Braveheart’ and ‘Rob Roy’.

Gigs to date have been a variety of Cultural and Music festivals, Highland Games, Vector Arena and TV performances such as Sky Sports (King of the Ring) and The Paul Henry Show (TV3).

For booking enquiries email: clanceltica@gmail.com

The performers usually consist of 5 drummers and 1 bagpiper (L to R Frankie Mac, Ty Boniface, Heather Mac, Fiona Condell, Doug McHardlane and Mich Tent – and Oscar the shaggy Highland coo!).

Gig dates for Clan Celtica

I hope that you enjoyed this edition of Celtic News. From next month, there will be profiles of entrants in The Australian Celtic Music Awards, as well as performers at The Australian Celtic Festival. There are also two very exciting announcements in “the works” which I am looking forward to sharing with you all.

See you next month.
Barbara McLennan
Editor
Celtic News
02 6734 5189
barbara.saxonge@gmail.com

Published with permission from Celtic News